| New International Version | NET Bible |
| 1Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. | 1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father. |
| 2Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another woman." | 2Gilead's wife also gave him sons. When his wife's sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, "You are not going to inherit any of our father's wealth, because you are another woman's son." |
| 3So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him. | 3So Jephthah left his half-brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah's gang and traveled with him. |
| 4Some time later, when the Ammonites were fighting against Israel, | 4It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. |
| 5the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. | 5When the Ammonites attacked, the leaders of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back from the land of Tob. |
| 6"Come," they said, "be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites." | 6They said, "Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites." |
| 7Jephthah said to them, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why do you come to me now, when you're in trouble?" | 7Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, "But you hated me and made me leave my father's house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?" |
| 8The elders of Gilead said to him, "Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be head over all of us who live in Gilead." | 8The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That may be true, but now we pledge to you our loyalty. Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader of all who live in Gilead." |
| 9Jephthah answered, "Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me--will I really be your head?" | 9Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, "All right! If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, I will be your leader." |
| 10The elders of Gilead replied, "The LORD is our witness; we will certainly do as you say." | 10The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD will judge any grievance you have against us, if we do not do as you say." |
| 11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah. | 11So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement before the LORD in Mizpah. |
| 12Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: "What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?" | 12Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, "Why have you come against me to attack my land?" |
| 13The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah's messengers, "When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably." | 13The Ammonite king said to Jephthah's messengers, "Because Israel stole my land when they came up from Egypt--from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. Now return it peaceably!" |
| 14Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, | 14Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king |
| 15saying: "This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. | 15and said to him, "This is what Jephthah says, 'Israel did not steal the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites. |
| 16But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh. | 16When they left Egypt, Israel traveled through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh. |
| 17Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Give us permission to go through your country,' but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. | 17Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, "Please allow us to pass through your land." But the king of Edom rejected the request. Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. |
| 18"Next they traveled through the wilderness, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border. | 18Then Israel went through the desert and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River; they did not go through Moabite territory (the Arnon was Moab's border). |
| 19"Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, 'Let us pass through your country to our own place.' | 19Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, "Please allow us to pass through your land to our land." |
| 20Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. | 20But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He assembled his whole army, camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. |
| 21"Then the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and his whole army into Israel's hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, | 21The LORD God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land. |
| 22capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan. | 22They took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north, from the desert in the east to the Jordan in the west. |
| 23"Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? | 23Since the LORD God of Israel has driven out the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them? |
| 24Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess. | 24You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the LORD our God has driven out before us. |
| 25Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? | 25Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them? |
| 26For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn't you retake them during that time? | 26Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time? |
| 27I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the LORD, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites." | 27I have not done you wrong, but you are doing wrong by attacking me. May the LORD, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!'" |
| 28The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him. | 28But the Ammonite king disregarded the message sent by Jephthah. |
| 29Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. | 29The LORD's spirit empowered Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. |
| 30And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, | 30Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, saying, "If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, |
| 31whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering." | 31then whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites--he will belong to the LORD and I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice." |
| 32Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. | 32Jephthah approached the Ammonites to fight with them, and the LORD handed them over to him. |
| 33He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon. | 33He defeated them from Aroer all the way to Minnith--twenty cities in all, even as far as Abel Keramim! He wiped them out! The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites. |
| 34When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. | 34When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter. |
| 35When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break." | 35When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said, "Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! You have brought me disaster! I made an oath to the LORD, and I cannot break it." |
| 36"My father," she replied, "you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. | 36She said to him, "My father, since you made an oath to the LORD, do to me as you promised. After all, the LORD vindicated you before your enemies, the Ammonites." |
| 37But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry." | 37She then said to her father, "Please grant me this one wish. For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity." |
| 38"You may go," he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. | 38He said, "You may go." He permitted her to leave for two months. She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills. |
| 39After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite tradition | 39After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. |
| 40that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite. | 40Every year Israelite women commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days. |
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